I was wondering if genuine head gasket is a metal one or not. I've just removed the head and found that the gasket is not a metal one as it should be according to some threads in this forum. Anybody who knows where the truth is?

Thanks Rich

Seen loads like that, You;ve got to remember that the Garage's doing this work have no idea of what should be there so when they order a gasket set it will be the cheapest to make the most mark up, If it last's a yr then job done for them at least

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Yeah, looks like someone put cheap gasket instead of genuine one. Here are some pics of the old gasket and a new one:

Other side:


I'm little bit concerned why metal plates on a new gasket are not kept together (or it's fine?):

That's normal - don't worry.

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Rich

not necessarily,
i'v already wrote a short post on this subject :
http://www.306gti6.com/forum/showthread.php?id=104006&page=5#87

it was based on this article
http://www.aa1car.com/library/ar396.html

quoting the relevant text :
"HEAD GASEKT SEALING REQUIREMENTS

The sealing requirements for the Quad 4 as well as most of todays overhead cam, multivalve, bimetal, high output engines are much more demanding than those for an all-iron pushrod V8, V6, straight six or four cylinder engine. But the refinishing techniques that the aftermarket has traditionally used to resurface heads and engine decks may not produce a good enough surface to seal some of todays engines.
The two basic issues here are surface finish and gasket design. Most aftermarket head gaskets are designed to seal rougher surfaces than an OEM gasket sees in a brand new engine. Though this approach has worked well in older, high mileage engines, it may not work so well on some of the newer engines that require a very smooth, flat sealing surface, or applications that require an OEM type of head gasket instead of an aftermarket gasket.

It is not difficult for the OEMs to achieve such smooth surface finishes when they manufacture a brand new engine in a controlled environment. Automated milling machines with multi-bladed cutter heads (up to 16 tool bits per head) and polycrystaline diamond tooling provide the precision needed to produce the extremely smooth surface finishes necessary to seal todays engines with MLS steel head gaskets. But few engine rebuilders have such sophisticated equipment.

Because of this, some say it is better not to resurface the head or block on an engine that requires an MLS steel head gasket unless it is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, resurfacing is usually necessary by the time these engines need to be rebuilt. And that creates a problem for those who lack the know-how or equipment to duplicate the OEM finish. Close enough is not good enough on these engines because the OEM gasket will not seal properly unless both mating surfaces are within the specified surface finish limits. Gasket shellac may give a temporary seal, but it won not last.

What is needed is one of two things: either better resurfacing equipment that is capable of duplicating an extremely smooth OEM surface finish, or an aftermarket replacement gasket that can seal with the same loading as the OEM gasket yet handle the rougher surface finishes commonly produced by current aftermarket refinishing techniques.

Several aftermarket gasket suppliers have developed conventional gaskets that can replace MLS gaskets on some engines. Nonasbestos and graphite service gaskets are currently available for some engines (such as the Quad 4 and Ford 4.6L V8), but not most of the Japanese applications. So for the applications where an aftermarket gasket is not available, you have to use an OEM-style MLS gasket and try to reproduce the highly-polished OEM surface finish that is required."

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French military victories?
Did you mean French military defeats?

It's not about the gasket. Something bad happenned and I need to change some things in the engine To be precise - conrod need to be replaced.